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'Cool story' if Sharks' Thornton wins Cup

Veteran Sharks forward Joe Thornton may not have been on the NHL’s list of the top 100 players of all time in 2017, but Doug Wilson, his team’s general manager, believes he is. (JOSIE LEPE/AP files)

Robert Tychkowski

Published: May 10, 2019 - 11:37 PM

SAN JOSE — The closer they get, the louder it gets.

Win for Joe.

Granted, it’s far from the only reason the San Jose Sharks are chasing the first Stanley Cup in the 28 year history of their organization, but the sentimental storyline of veteran Joe Thornton’s quest for his first Cup is impossible to ignore.

“We know where he’s at in his career, where a lot of us are,” said Sharks captain Joe Pavelski, on the eve of the Western Conference final against St. Louis. “It’s not just: ‘Win one for Joe,’ it’s win one for all of us. It’s win one for San Jose.

“But it would be a cool story, special, obviously. He means the world to us and this organization. He’s led the way. You would definitely be excited to see him lift the Cup, but we’re only halfway there.

“Our focus has to stay narrowed in front of us because it’s only going to get tougher. Although you can start to see the finish line, there’s another hurdle in front of us.”

Sharks general manager Doug Wilson says he can’t begin to explain the impact Thornton has had on the Sharks since being traded to San Jose from Boston in 2005. On the ice and off, the 39-year-old has been an instrumental part in helping hockey flourish in Silicon Valley.

“When you take a look at his history and legacy, to me he’s one of the top 100 greatest players who ever played,” said Wilson, taking a shot at the NHL’s much-criticized list in 2017, that didn’t have Thornton and his nearly 1,500 points on it.

“He’s amazing. He changed this franchise when he came here. I can’t even put it into words. You look at the moment in Game 7 against Vegas, the compassion he had for a teammate (Pavelski) going down, then to go from the emotional chaos of seeing your captain carried off to zeroing in on the task at hand is amazing.

“It epitomizes Joe and it epitomizes our team. We care for each other. How can you not want to play for a guy like that?”

REBOUND CONTROL

After being pulled twice in the first two games of San Jose’s first-round series with Las Vegas, it looked like goaltender Martin Jones was done. Same with the Sharks.

You can’t win without rock solid netminding ,and Jones was wobbling like a toddler’s loose tooth. It’s hard to believe he’s the same guy who’s been carrying the team on his back ever since.

Jones is 7-3 in the last 10 games with a .928 save percentage and 2.13 goals against average and has the full confidence of everyone in the room as he leads San Jose into the conference final. Not that they had ever lost it.

“He’s our goalie, we believe in him,” said Wilson. “He took us to the final a couple of years ago. There was never any doubt in Martin Jones. I think he was top three in the league in wins this year.

“When we struggled a little bit it was a collective struggle. One thing about this group is they take care of each other and they find answers. But I don’t think there was any doubt in any of our minds that Jonesy was capable of doing it. He’s our guy.”

Jones never seems to give reporters much, but that’s just his style. He’s a quiet guy who rarely lets emotion enter into the equation, which is the perfect temperament for a goalie.

“He doesn’t really give us much, either,” said Sharks forward Logan Couture. “He’s that way, he’s quiet and confident. There was never any doubt he was going to play well. He plays his best hockey in the playoffs; he’s proven it year after year, so we knew it was coming. He went out and showed everyone else.”

TRADING UP

It was an emotional and tumultuous journey from Ottawa to San Jose, but Erik Karlsson is here to tell you it was worth it.

Back in a conference final for the second time in his career, the former Senators defenceman says playing in San Jose is everything he thought it would be, and then some.

“With Ottawa it was a little unexpected,” he said of clinching a playoff spot in the second-last game of the season before beginning their improbable run in 2017. “Here we’ve taken aim at the Cup final since Game 1. Those are our expectations.”

He says it didn’t take him long to realize why the Sharks always give themselves a chance to win it all.

“Once I got traded here, I knew we had a great team already. And here we are. It’s been a good year, being on a good team, surrounded by good players and being able to be in the shadow a little bit.

“I’ve learned and gained some new experience. For me, this is a privilege. It’s something that when I got traded here I wished for but there are no guarantees. But what this organization has shown me is they’re willing to put in the work to get to where they want to go.”